SKU: BO.B.3726

Written in 2001, this work was conceived by the need to enlarge the repertoire of works for solo cello, an important goal since the repertoire of such works is limited. Most cellists are limited to performances of such well-known solo works as the Suites of Bach, written almost 300 years ago, as well as other classics of the genre by Max Reger, Zoltan Kodaly, Benjamin Britten, Gaspar Cassado, Enric Casals, etc.

The intention of the Suite Exotique is to revolutionize the concept of the Baroque suite by transforming the suite into a collection of modern dances, which are both contemporary and widely recognized today. Thus, the dances of the Baroque suite, such as Allemande, Courante, Sarabande are substituted for the Tango, Milonga, Blues in such a way that the traditional formal structure of six movements of Baroque dances is modernized by rhythms and contemporary styles which coexist in the Modern world, but are separate from and do not pertain to those works which are normally considered to belong to the realm of cultured music.

Apart from the fusion represented by the mixture of a Baroque genre with modern, urban musical language found in this work, the subtitle exotica is appropriate due to the originality of writing such a work for cello solo. This work allows the interpreter to explore and take full advantage of their technical, artistic and expressive abilities.

This work establishes a total symbiosis between the instrument and the evolutionary transformation of its musical language which in turn creates a style adapted to the expressive requirements of the work itself. The specific techniques and qualities of the cello are placed in service of the required style and concept of each movement of the Suite. At the same time those stylistic characteristics are transformed and adapted to the particular characteristics of the cello and taking full advantage of the instruments polyphonic, sonic, aesthetic qualities as well as its timbre.

The Suite Exotique was premiered in August, 2003 during the International Music Festival of Ibiza by the Russian cellist Svetlana Tovstukha.

SKU: HL.14028929

Written for Moray Welsh whilst still an undergraduate at York University. This piece was completed in mid-September. Inspired by Hermann Hesse's Steppenwolf. A solo 'cello seemed an appropriate medium for music which might explore the character of Harry Haller, with his desire for bourgeois comfort and his strong misanthropic and suicidal tendencies. The opening theme attempts to express this - melancholy, nostalgic, a bit Biedermeyer (cf. Brahms Intermezzi). The basic theme of the book, at its simplest, is that every human personality consists of hundred of different personalities - within every man there lurks a wolf. Accordingly the tendency of my piece is for all its musical material to become distorted, either by thematic transformation or by changes of timbre. There are three movements played without a break. The first is a character portrait of the Steppenwolf. The second is concerned in the most general sort of way with the dance elements in the novel - Harry's being taught to dance and appreciate low 'popular' music - a tango is recapitulated in a waltz and 'Yearning', a popular song of the time (1927) is hinted at. The third movement concerns the Masked Ball and the Magic Theatre. Mozart is one of Hesse's great loves and he is repeatedly mentioned in the book. Inevitably some Mozart quotes have been worked in, the most significant being a reference to The Magic Flute 'fire and water' flute theme in the middle of the second movement. Long before I finished the piece, I was disenchanted with the work of Hesse. Much of Steppenwolf I now find rather embarrassing and the claims currently made for Hesse's greatness seem to me exaggerated. Since my piece is in no important sense programmatically specific, this change of heart doesn't really matter. ~ David Blake.